A considerable lot of the supercars are being sent out through merchants to France, Germany and Austria, while others are winding up in South America and Eastern Europe.

Second-hand vehicles are being gobbled up for re-deal by business people from Poland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Moldova.

Owning a powerful BMW or Audi has turn into an unwelcome indication of obvious riches after a quite promoted break around Italy's expense police, the Guardia di Finanza, on the chic ski resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo at Christmas.

Charge assessors followed the proprietors of 133 Lamborghinis, Ferraris, SUVs and other top-end autos that they discovered stopped in the roads of the resort, a play area for the well off in the Dolomites.

They found that 42 of the proprietors - about a third - had pronounced wages of not exactly €22,000 a year. A further 16 guaranteed to be procuring not exactly €50,000 a year.